Start Writing Fiction – Free Online Course through the Open University

Start Writing Fiction – Free Online Course through the Open University

So you wanna be a writer? Well, I do. I imagine you do as well or you wouldn’t be reading this.

Everyone comes at creative writing from different angles, for different reasons and with different backgrounds in terms of prior learning. Not everyone has been through university and earned a degree in creative writing. I certainly haven’t (even if my son has).

Having been back at the coalface for a few years now, I have realised that it doesn’t hurt to pause, reflect and consolidate. Progression in writing is not linear and will take twists and turns as skills develop. In another life I remember struggling with most forms of public speaking for years. I finally took an evening class to overcome my shortcomings and one of the first things that we students were told was that it takes work and practice to become competent and few (if any) people are born with the ability. The term ‘naturally gifted’ is overused and invariably a misnomer. The aphorism The more I practice the luckier I get is attributed to famous golfer Gary Player even though he may not have actually coined the adage.

We are a function of the inputs we receive. Training, coaching and support are all terms that apply when helping someone to improve. I think, when it comes down to it, most writers just want to be the best version of themselves knowing that they are unlikely to ever become famous and/or earn money from writing. That’s okay if you enjoy the process. Many do and we can dream of making it big one day, can’t we? Dreams are free after all.

There are resources available and, even better, free resources.

ABCtales provides a supportive environment to nurture individual talent. Like anything else, it depends how you use it as to what you get back but I personally find the interaction within community invaluable along with the ability to read and learn from other people’s work. Constructive feedback is worth its weight in gold and bless those kindly souls who stop by and give their positive thoughts in a selfless manner.

Another free resource available is an online course called ‘Start Writing Fiction’

It’s divided into three sections:

• Character
• Settings
• Genre  

It equates to approximately 12 hours study and the learning outcomes are:

• identify strengths and weaknesses as a writer of fiction
• demonstrate a general awareness of fiction writing
• discuss fiction using basic vocabulary.

You will need to register for an account and password with the OU but it is all free.

The course predominantly explores the technical aspects of how characters might be drawn and how setting is established. It explores the different levels of characterisation, from flat to round, and how character and place interact. It also works on the effect of genre and how genre can be used.

The main teaching material in this course is taken from an existing publication, The Fiction Writer's Workshop by Josip Novakovich (1995). There are extracts along with listening and writing activities.

I found the whole experience grounding, especially the underlying humility of the writers involved. One particular quote resonated with me by E.M. Forster which went along the lines of “…puts me among the large body of authors who are not really novelists, and who have to get on as best they can..” when talking about characterisation.

The methodology discussed is a great source of technical knowhow that can be incorporated into a writing style. As ever, most will find that they will be using some techniques without realising but note that development is there to be had by embracing the source material and the thoughts of the esteemed authors included.

One of the disadvantages of the course is the obvious lack of feedback. As much as I enjoyed doing the activities, with nobody to read and comment on my output was like being in an echo chamber despite the ability to click on a legend and reveal a discussion that acts as a sanity check for what you have put.

Wherever you are on the endless journey that is creative writing, it doesn’t hurt to pause and reflect. I found the course helpful in the context of a reset and consolidation. Others will glean something entirely different, I’m sure.

There are links at the end to lure you in to further study through the OU including other courses that attract a fee. That’s entirely your choice but if the mention of this free version helps in enhancing your own motivation then it’s been worth writing this up.

Enjoy!

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/creative-writing/start-writing-fiction?active-tab=description-tab

*Novakovich is an award-winning writer who teaches fiction writing at the University of Cincinnati. His chapters on ‘Character’ and ‘Setting’ are included within this course